For What Is
by SecondSilk
Summary: Wheel of Time crossover.


Title: For What Is.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Wheel of Time crossover.

By Rose Williams.

The Wheel of Time is written by Robert Jordan and published by Orbit Books. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was created by Joss Whedon and copyrighted to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Set during Moiraine's test for the Accepted, and season three of Buffy. No Spoilers.

Author's Note: This is something of a prologue to a big epic piece that I haven't started writing. It is inspired by a WoT challenge posted on the ezboard the first time TtH was down.

**… … …**

"The second time is for what is. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast."

Moiraine swallowed, but stepped through the silver arch and into…

… a graveyard.

The place was quiet, almost peaceful, in the calm night. She looked around, wondering why she was there. There was a shuffling noise from several feet away and she gripped her stake in preparation. She shook her head, amused at herself. There was not going to be a cemetery in Sunnydale that didn't have a vampire in it. And she was Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

_Vampire?_ she thought. _Like a Draghkar_, her mind supplied, before the confusion disappeared, replaced the certainty of her own strength in the fight to come.

The vampire appeared, seemed delighted to see her and approached slowly. Moiraine waited until he had sidled up to her and reached out a hand before she simply put the stake through his heart.

Behind her someone clapped. She whirled around to face them, only to discover that it was a slightly built red head girl.

"Willow, I'd forgotten you were there," Buffy said. Something wanted to tell her that her sister-in-law was not supposed to be there at all, but she was distracted by the fluffy pink thing she was wearing.

"What are you wearing?" she asked.

"I know," Willow said. "But I couldn't find the green one, and everything else was too warm for tonight. You know, because I'm not actually doing the running and slaying thing."

Buffy giggled. That was just so like her friend. She looked down at her own clothes, pleased to see that she wearing jeans and not the dresses she had to wear at court. She was momentarily distracted by the thought, and missed the arrival of the next vampire.

Willow screamed and tried to stake the thing herself, but it quickly had its hands around her throat. Buffy stepped in and took the thing from behind, but not in enough time to prepare for the arrival of another three. These looked stronger and older, as far as vampires went, then the first two. They wound be harder to kill, which meant it might be a bit of fun.

The leader, in the middle, was dressed strangely, too. He was wearing some sort of tunic and carrying a halberd. They might have been the cult Giles had been expecting, so she would get to keep the nifty weapon, too.

As she pivoted on her back foot to keep herself between Willow and vampires, she saw a flash of silver at the corner of her eye. Behind the circle of vampires there was a silver arch, looking incongruous amongst the headstones.

_The way back will come but once._

She could take out two vampires before she got there, leaving just one for Willow to run away from. Moiraine turned towards the middle one, and the arch vanished. She looked back at where it had been to see it reappear.

_Be steadfast._ The voice in her head told her. She stood where she was, keeping half an eye on the circling predators while still watching the silver gateway. It was beginning to fade.

_But once… steadfast._

Buffy ran straight at the middle vampire and aimed a stake at his chest as she passed him. All three vampires moved as she did, the last thing she heard before she stepped through the arch was Willow screaming her name, fear shot through with panic and accusation.

The glow enveloped her. She remembered the chamber in the basement of the White Tower, but didn't see it. She did feel the cold water that was poured over her, and she heard the words.

"You are washed clean of false pride. You are washed clean of false ambition. You come to us washed clean in heart and soul."

Merean took her arm to lead her to the next archway but Moiraine pulled away, or tried to. She wasn't as strong her as she had been there, where she had been Buffy.

_Light, how long was it since I had saw Willow, since I called her Willow?_

"Is she alive?" she demanded of Aes Sedai.

"Who?"

"Tigraine. I left her to die in there."

Merean merely blinked, showing true Aes Sedai calm in the face of the prospect that the Daughter-Heir of Andor was dead.

"Are you willing to go on?" she asked, leading Moiraine to the third arch. Moiraine nodded, if she was ever going to be as strong as Buffy again, if she was ever going to save the world like she had dreamed of doing as a child, this was the only way.

"The third time is for what will be," Merean intoned. "The way back will come but once. Be steadfast."


End file.
